Linus Andersson

Newark School of Violin Making

RAB Award 2017

Linus Andersson was awarded a work experience with Marc Soubeyran. This is what he writes about his experience:

Being with Marc in Ludlow for these three early autumn days made me feel that I took an important step forward in my own making. The time in Marc’s workshop was devoted to set up. I brought one of my new instruments, with set up and everything finished and step by step we looked at it and Marc showed me how it could be improved to the best of standards. Of course I had to improve on each one of the steps, starting with shooting the fingerboard. After that making a new nut, shaping new pegs, fitting a new soundpost and cutting a new bridge. The only thing that could stay as it was was the saddle.
We were talking about different ways of doing things, to put his methods in perspective. I asked Marc all sorts of questions about the acoustic aspects of the set up, especially while cutting the new bridge, and he gave me as generously as to any of my other questions his thoughts on this. But we were clear about the purpose of this set up – it was to have a very good ground to start from, from which I then could start doing my adjustments.
After the day’s work we continued the discussions into the evenings. I was also happy to discover that Marc is a viol maker. Beside the very interesting stories about how under Dietrich Kessler’s supervision in the 1980s he was investigating and discovering the possibilities of using a bent front, he also gave me some valuable advice for the viol project I have been planning for this autumn.”